The crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party took a new dimension on Thursday when its National Chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, accused the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyeson Wike, and his Ekiti State counterpart, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, of recruiting former President Goodluck Jonathan to scuttle the party’s peace process.

He alleged that the two governors gave the former President the task of scuttling the efforts of the party’s Peace and Reconciliation Committee headed by the Governor of Bayelsa State, Mr. Seriake Dicks

The former President had, on Thursday last week in Abuja, organised the party’s stakeholders’ meeting, which ended in disarray.

Sheriff and members of his National Working Committee walked out of the meeting due to disagreements on how it should be conducted.

However, members of the sacked National Caretaker Committee of the party, headed by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, and other stakeholders of the party were in attendance.

The Makarfi committee, which was sacked by the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, has however taken its case to the Supreme Court.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, Sheriff, who spoke through his deputy, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, said Jonathan was lured into committing a serious breach of protocol that led to the failure of the exercise which was the intended outcome.

He said, “It was a thing of joy for the party faithful as they jubilated that indeed peace has returned to the party.

“But to the surprise of all, Wike and Fayose recruited the former President Goodluck Jonathan into a fake peace effort predetermined to scuttle Governor Dickson’s efforts.

“The result is that President Jonathan was lured into committing a serious breach of protocol that led to the failure of the exercise, which was the intended outcome.”

Sheriff also alleged that Wike sponsored the meeting (with Jonathan) with the sum of N50m.

He said, “The allegation that Wike spent a whopping N50m to host the last failed meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan is neither palatable nor is it acceptable.”

Sheriff further alleged that the governor had spent several millions in relation to the PDP case at the Supreme Court.

He said, “It is said that Wike paid $1m for legal fees to Markarfi’s attorneys in the ongoing Supreme Court matter and has disbursed $5m to unknown persons in relation to the Supreme Court case.

“He has been boasting that he bought his governorship Supreme Court judgment through someone (name withheld) in Suit No PHC/810/2016.”

The party chairman expressed concern with what he described as “needless spending” by Wike.

He added, “The party is worried that the amount of money Wike is spending needlessly is worrisome and a measure of unbridled profligacy intended to further smear the good image of the party.

“This money belongs to the people of Rivers State and it should not be misappropriated at the expense of the people to whom it rightfully belongs.

“Anybody partaking in the misuse of Rivers State money should be fully aware that it is blood money. We therefore call on party leaders and Nigerians to refrain from accepting these monies from Governor Wike in line with the spirit of our founding fathers.”

Sheriff nevertheless announced that the party’s National Executive Council meeting would hold on May 3, in Abuja.

But Jonathan denied collecting money from anyone to host the botched meeting.

The former President, who spoke through his media aide, Mr. Ikechukwu Eze, said that there was no reason for anybody to accuse him of collecting money from anybody to organise a stakeholders’ meeting.

The ex-President stated, “The former President intervened in the crisis because of his genuine commitment to bring about peace in the party that made him President. I don’t think anybody will believe that he collected money from anybody to organise the meeting.

“It is out of his genuine concern to bring peace to the party. He has been meeting with members of the party; he met with Sheriff several times, he also met with Makarfi several times. He met with the governors.

“I don’t see any reason for anybody to say that Jonathan collected money from anybody to organise the stakeholders’ conference.”

In his own reaction, Fayose said Sheriff was doing the bidding of his paymasters in the All Progressives Congress.

Fayose spoke through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka.

“If Ali Modu Sheriff has taken his desperation to serve his paymasters in the APC to the level of accusing former President Goodluck Jonathan of being bribed to organise a peace meeting for the PDP, there is no reason for any sane mind to continue to respond to the continuous advertisement of his (Sheriff) political insanity,” he added.

FG using Sheriff to fuel crisis in PDP, alleges Wike

Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has accused the Federal Government of using the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, to cause crisis in the party.

Wike, who described Sheriff as a stooge, however, assured members of the PDP that there was no crisis in the PDP.

The governor, who made this remark in Port Harcourt, on Thursday, when over 7,500 members of the All Progressives Congress in the state defected to the PDP, assured members of his party that God would intervene in the situation.

He explained that his administration would not be distracted by the opposition party in the state, adding that his administration would continue with the development of the state.

Wike added, “Let me tell you because I don’t want anybody to tell you stories. There is no crisis in the PDP. What the Federal Government is doing; because they have seen that the APC is fumbling, they want to cause crisis in the PDP by using a stooge; they say his name is Sheriff, I don’t know.

“So, we will continue with what we are doing in the state. We will not be distracted; nobody will distract us. They thought they could distract us, but they are shocked that we are not even bothered by what they are doing.”

The governor argued that dismissing policemen, who were his security details, amounted to a plot to kill him.

He stated, “You dismissed policemen who were my security details. What it means is that if there are some persons who wanted to attack me, they should not protect me. I was about going out and I was told I have no (security) aides. If you are not planning to kill me, would you do that?

“I have said it that whatever strategy they are plotting against (ahead of) 2019 in Rivers State will not work. If I were them, I will just forget about this state.”

Explaining that the ruling party was not doing anything for the state, Wike promised the defectors that they would see the difference between their stay in the APC and now that they had returned to the PDP.

“You came when we wanted to begin to empower people. I want to assure you that everybody that has returned to the PDP family has equal rights. Leaders at various levels must carry everybody along,” he added.

In his reaction to the defection, the APC State Publicity Secretary, Mr. Chris Finebone, said a frontline politician in Rivers State, Chief Glory Emeh, was deceiving Wike by presenting faceless and non-existent names as defecting APC members.

“In pursuance of that scheme, Chief Emeh, having returned to the PDP alone, organised some unsuspecting villagers in his community, took photographs with them and circulated in the media as APC members that defected to the PDP in his LGA,” Finebone said in a statement.

However, several calls and a text message put across to Emeh were neither answered nor replied to.